Tips On Good Mental Health During Holiday Season By Dr. Hana Patel
Photo: Dr. Hana Patel. Courtesy: Dr. Hana Patel
The holiday season can be a testing time for ones mental health. There are ways to navigate it better and Dr. Hana Patel, NHS GP and GP Medico-Legal Expert Witness shared her thoughts on this subject matter and tips for better mental wellbeing at the holidays. Please read it below.
“There is evidence that shows that mental health can improve for some people due to the period of rest and recuperation, but for others, it can add stress and pressure; especially for men. Men especially are often looked at as the providers in families, and therefore can feel an added sense of pressure during the festive season.in some studies carried out they showed that over 60%of people felt that the holiday period made their pre- existing mental health conditions worse.
There is a lot of stress and financial pressures for many of us with the cost of living crisis, and coupling that with Christmas means that for some people Christmas will be extremely stressful and a period of anxiety. The general theme of Christmas is to enjoy gift to others and for some of us who are in financial difficulty it will be difficult to completely enjoy this period. Sadly for some people with pre-existing mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder associating this with Christmas and the time of spending could mean that the balance of the mental health could tip over and make their mental health condition worse.
Here are some tips for those of you who have particularly worried about Christmas and financial anxiety that it may cause.” – Dr. Hana Patel:
1. If you are feeling overwhelmed do seek advice there is lots of signposting that your GP can do including the citizens advice bureau
2. If you feel comfortable try and share your worries and concerns with friends and family so that you might be able to consider a secret Santa gift or one large gift for a family to reduce costs
3. If Christmas is a period that you know may make a mental health condition worse than I would recommend making an appointment to your GP a sadly there is also seasonal effective disorder that can make people anxious and depressed and coupled with a financial stresses of Christmas can mean that some people may need additional help and support with their mental health.
4. Some people find earmarking in particular time or period in the day through worry about stresses and things that are causing you anxiety is the better way of managing these emotions during the holiday period. So that you can enjoy the rest of the time with friends family and.
5. Consider trying to eat a healthy very diet and try and move more as exercise can naturally increase or mood improve our mental health and well-being.
We think these tips by Dr Hana Patel are excellent and wish you better mental health this holiday season.
Many kind thanks to Dr. Hana Patel, NHS GP and GP Medico-Legal Expert Witness